The voices of rebellion
In this newsletter, we take you inside the history of an attack on Mexican autoworkers, the rebellion brewing inside UPS, workers’ voices at the state capitol, and more.
The latest from Workday Magazine
Isabela’s newest story is an interview with writer and former autoworker and UAW representative Rob McKenzie: 3 Decades Ago, There Was a Deadly Attack on Mexican Autoworkers. Here’s What It Can Teach the U.S. Labor Movement Today. Isa’s review of El Golpe and its contents, which include a haunting, riveting investigation into political schemes and events surrounding radical labor and social movement solidarity across the U.S.-Mexico border, is timely as the UAW’s new president, Shawn Fain, plans to reform the union away from top-down hierarchy.
Sarah’s latest, Inside a Teamster Rebellion: This Is What Union Democracy Looks Like, profiles Tanner Fischer, the 26-year-old president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 90 in Des Moines, Iowa, who has been working for UPS since he was 18. The story is a look into a militant local gearing up for what is potentially going to be the largest strike against a single company in U.S. history. A contract between UPS and around 350,000 Teamsters is set to expire July 31.
Reminder: our relaunch party is next week!
How to Build Pro-Worker Media: Relaunching Workday Magazine
Join Workday Magazine and In These Times for a discussion with our movement friends about how to build a media ecosystem that is pro-labor, and serves the working class. We will take the opportunity to celebrate the relaunch of Workday Magazine.
Workday Magazine is a nonprofit newsroom devoted to holding the powerful accountable through the perspective of workers. Its labor coverage focuses on Minnesota and the broader Midwest.
In These Times is an independent, nonprofit magazine dedicated to advancing democracy and economic justice, informing movements for a more humane world, and providing an accessible forum for debate about the policies that shape our future.
Arbeiter Brewing Co., is a public space serving food and drinks where masks are optional, however we welcome our guests to wear masks and will have them available. If you're feeling sick, please stay home. Arbeiter is close to bus stops and the light rail. There's limited spots in a small parking lot, but street parking is available along Minnehaha Avenue.
When: Wed., May 24, 6pm to 8pm
Where: Arbeiter Brewing at 3038 Minnehaha Ave, Minneapolis
What: We will have a panel discussion, as well as audience Q and A. There will also be time for mingling and informal discussion. This event is free. We would love to see you there!
Please RSVP on Facebook or this Evite.
Any questions, please contact Isabela Escalona at escalona@umn.edu.
Labor news in Minnesota
Minnesota workers have been busy pushing the DFL trifecta to pass laws protecting workers’ rights and safety, including warehouse worker protections and banning noncompete covenants and captive audience meetings. Minnesota Reformer has a handy list of these labor victories.
After voting to authorize a strike that would’ve started May 15, mental health care workers with SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa reached a tentative agreement with their employer Allina Health. Over 500 workers who unionized in late 2021 have been fighting over a year for their first contract.
After Hastings school food service workers went on strike for 6 weeks earlier this year and won an agreement, the district is now seeking to privatize food service.
Nurses with Minnesota Nurses Association that have been demonstrating at the capitol in support of the Keeping Nurses at the Bedside Act have been up against nonprofit hospital executives at the Mayo Clinic threatening to take their investments out of state. Lawmakers seem to have caved into some of the demands from the Minnesota Hospital Association. Meanwhile, another group of Mayo Clinic workers, along with the National Right to Work Foundation, are trying to decertify their union with AFSCME Council 65.
Tonight!
Curious about the new interim president at the University of Minnesota and his connections to Hormel Foods? Attend this talk tonight with the East Side Freedom Library co-founder and labor historian Peter Rachleff, History Revealed: The Hormel Strike of 1985-1986. Learn about how a small town in Minnesota became the center of one of the most significant labor actions in history.
See you next week! We are each other’s harvest.